Round 1

Photo:
Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com

Ortiz impressed in his UFC debut.

Ortiz moves forward on Maria, then quickly has to
back up as the Brazilian swings and misses with a spinning back
fist, then a kick. Ortiz comes forward again, and now Maria drives
ahead to hit a powerful takedown in the center of the cage.
Scooting toward the fence, Ortiz is able to work back to his feet,
but Maria keeps him pinned to the fence. Maria changes levels for a
single-leg, gets it, and stays glued to Ortiz as the American posts
and stands up again. Ortiz gets some distance about two minutes
into the bout and swipes a long left hand across Maria’s face on
the end of a three-piece combo.

Now it’s Ortiz pushing Maria against the fence and landing a knee
to the cup. Maria hits the floor and needs a few minutes to
recover, but the flyweights do get back to action. Ortiz looks for
a takedown as they tie up, pulling Maria to the ground with a rear
waistlock. Maria tries to roll through, giving up his back, but
Ortiz can’t sink his hooks and Maria gets back to his feet in the
scramble. Ortiz shoots a double-leg and puts Maria on the ground
again; this time, Maria is waiting to pull guard with an arm-in
guillotine attempt. Maria can’t get the angle, and Ortiz rides out
the last few seconds of the round with his head trapped.

Sherdog Scores

Round 2

Ortiz goes high with a few kicks, blocked off by Maria, who answers
with a hard leg kick inside. Maria comes over the top with an
overhand right, then another. Ortiz gives him one in return,
drawing a smile, but then lands another groin shot, this time an
inside leg kick which sends Maria to the floor. Maria recovers
after two minutes, while ref MacDonald warns Ortiz that another
infraction will cost him a point. Maria lands a couple leg kicks
and a spinning kick to the body, then sprawls all over a double-leg
shot. Ortiz catches a kick and tries to send the Brazilian to the
ground, but Maria reverses position and goes for a single-leg of
his own. Ortiz hits the switch and the flyweights separate, then
Ortiz comes back to stick a straight right and toss Maria to the
canvas. It’s side control for Ortiz as he drops short, hard elbows
on Maria’s face. Maria powers back to his feet and sprawls on a
shot, catching Ortiz in another guillotine, but again time runs
out. Maria goes back to his corner bleeding from a cut above his
right eye.

Sherdog Scores

Round 3

Ortiz moves to clinch against the fence and takes about 40 seconds
to drag Maria to the ground. Another 40 seconds and Ortiz has
passed Maria’s guard, working to deep half-guard and dropping hard
punches and elbows on Maria’s face. Ortiz gets to mount for a
moment, then gets bucked back to side control on Maria’s left side.
Maria gets to his knees and Ortiz turns up the volume, smashing
away with hammer fists. Referee MacDonald tells Maria to fight
back, but Maria just raises his hand in protest of what appear to
be a couple punches to the back of the head. Nonetheless, MacDonald
steps in and waves an end to the fight.

The Official Result

Round 1

Martins chases the backpedaling Cruickshank around the cage,
sticking a straight left after about a minute and following up with
a leg kick. Another straight left drops Cruickshank to the canvas,
and Martins looks to pound him out from side control. Cruickshank
recovers and slips out, then gets back to his feet and circles
away. The left hand keeps working for Martins as he follows
Cruickshank, who looks to retaliate with kicks to the leg and body
of the Brazilian but cannot find anything clean. Cruickshank hits
the deck after another left lands, and Martins comes down to
half-guard on the American’s right side. Martins grabs a kimura,
sits up and switches to an armbar, but Cruickshank defends. Martins
steps into mount briefly, Cruickshank gets a knee in and pushes him
back to half-guard. Now, Martins leans right to left and fishes for
another kimura, but time runs out.

Sherdog Scores

Round 2

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Martins tapped out Cruickshank.

Martins catches a high kick on his shoulder and
shoves Cruickshank to the ground at the base of the fence.
Cruickshank puts the Brazilian in his guard, so Martins postures up
and puts pressure on the head to pass. Another kimura attempt from
Martins is thwarted, this time by the fence and a lack of space to
work. Martins leans even further across Cruickshank’s body and gets
the arm very deep before cranking a straight armbar, and this time
he forces the tap.

The Official Result

Round 1

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Tavares returned with a bang.

Tavares shoots in early, gets stuffed and instead
pulls guard. Salas kicks at his legs for a moment before ref Dan
Miragliotta orders the Brazilian back to his feet. Salas catches a
kick and tries to hustle Tavares to the ground, can’t get him down.
Tavares ducks under a hook and double-legs Salas to the ground near
the fence, then lifts him into the air and deposits him in the
center of the cage. Salas scores with a couple elbows as he tries
to work back to his feet, but Tavares keeps heavy on top and spins
around to take the American’s back. Tavares slaps on a rear-naked
choke and rolls Salas over, forcing a quick tap.

The Official Result

Round 1

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Akhmedov lamped Perpetuo in quick fashion.

Perpetuo snipes over the top with a grazing right
hand, answered by a chopping leg kick from the Russian. Akhmedov
shoots in and falls to a knee as the middleweights clash heads, and
Perpetuo tries to bash him out with hammer fists. Akhmedov regains
his senses and drives forward on a single-leg to slam Perpetuo to
the ground, but the Brazilian is quickly back on his feet. Akhmedov
presses him against the fence and throws knees up the middle, one
of which draws a complaint from Perpetuo. Ref Kevin MacDonald tells
them to fight on, so Perpetuo drubs Akhmedov with a hard right
hand.

Akhmedov stumbles a few steps away, then charges back to shove
Perpetuo against the cage and then jump on his back. Akhmedov tries
to finish with a rear-naked choke, but despite having it under the
chin, Perpetuo pulls his head free. Still in back-mount, Akhmedov
lands a couple punches on his kneeling opponent before trying for
the RNC again. Perpetuo twists around in guard, scrambles up and
lands a takedown of his own. Akhmedov drives forward, gets clipped
with another right and backpedals. Perpetuo rushes in and gets
clipped by a right hook; he falls to his knees, and as he moves to
stand again, Akhmedov blasts him with another huge right hand. This
one turns out the lights on Perpetuo, sending ref MacDonald into
action.

The Official Result

Round 1

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Sicilia teed off on Castro from the guard.

Sicilia blocks a high kick and walks forward on
“Pepey,” who shoots a single-leg against the fence. Sicilia
reverses for a takedown of his own and sets up in the jiu-jitsu
ace’s guard to land some rough forearm shots. Sicilia stands and
Pepey sticks him with an upkick. Sicilia comes crashing down with a
pair of thunderous right hands that hurt the Brazilian. Another
half dozen rights send ref Dan Miragliotta crashing in for the
stoppage.

The Official Result

Round 1

Bezerra leaps at Stephens with a knee, sending the American
backwards. It’s short lives, as Stephens goes back to stalking
“Rony Jason” clockwise around the perimeter. Bezerra steps in to
throw an overhand right and ducks straight into a right mid kick
from Stephens. The Brazilian is out cold when he hits the ground,
but Stephens lands a big right hand before referee Kevin MacDonald
can step in to wave it off.

The Official Result

Round 1

LaFlare catches a kick and tries to bring Ponzinibbio to the ground
but can’t hold him down. LaFlare sticks a long jab in Ponzinibbio’s
face and shoots in for a takedown, this time putting the Argentine
fighter down in the center of the cage. Ponzinibbio scoots backward
toward the fence, absorbing a few punches before kicking LaFlare
away. LaFlare comes right back to Ponzinibbio’s half-guard, then
steps in to mount at the base of the fence. He lays a forearm
across Ponzinibbio’s face and sits up in mount to land a hard elbow
shot. Ponzinibbio tries to roll over, but his left arm is pinned
behind his back. LaFlare rolls underneath for an armbar,
surrendering top position as Ponzinibbio pulls his arm free.
Ponzinibbio jumps on LaFlare’s back, but LaFlare just turns around
to wind up back on top, in guard. Ponzinibbio kicks him away and
staggers up, eating a right hand to the face as he does. LaFlare
catches a kick and drives Ponzinibbio to the ground again with
about one minute to go. Ponzinibbio kicks him away and stands,
misses with an overhand right and takes a quick right hand on the
body.

Sherdog Scores

Round 2

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

LaFlare dominated Ponzinibbio for three rounds.

The welterweights exchange leg kicks early in round two, with
LaFlare mixing in some long jabs. Both men try to go high, though
both block the other’s head kicks. Ponzinibbio sprawls on a shot,
but LaFlare turns the corner to take the back. Ponzinibbio doesn’t
allow it, though LaFlare shoves him against the cage and scores
with a couple knees on the way up. Ponzinibbio sprawls on the next
double-leg shot, takes a left kick to the body and then one on the
leg. LaFlare has a left high kick blocked and takes one back off
the forearms. After a few sloppy exchanges, Ponzinibbio scores with
a lead uppercut and then tries to chase LaFlare around the outside
with more punches.

Left hooks are landing for Ponzinibbio, but LaFlare slows his roll
with a left straight that snaps back Ponzinibbio’s head. LaFlare
comes off the fence and hits a double-leg in the middle of cage to
wind up in half-guard and finish the round on top.

Sherdog Scores

Round 3

LaFlare takes a finger in the eye as the round begins but doesn’t
want time to recover. Instead, he gets right back to stalking and
kicking at Ponzinibbio, who is sporting damage beneath his left eye
and breathing heavily with hands at his sides. LaFlare catches a
slow-motion kick and shoves Ponzinibbio to the ground. Short, hard
elbows land for LaFlare on the ground before Ponzinibbio works over
to the fence and stands. Ponzinibbio throws a right hand and ducks
into a knee from LaFlare, who pounces on his wounded opponent and
tries to polish him off with ground-and-pound. Left hands and
elbows fall on the face of Ponzinibbio, but he does well to recover
under fire. Ponzinibbio gets back to his feet and circles off the
cage, still holding his hands low. LaFlare eats an uppercut and
drops to the ground, then catches Ponzinibbio’s arm in an omoplata
and rolls him over when the Argentinean fighter comes to the
canvas. LaFlare spends the final few moments on top, pinning
Ponzinibbio in the middle of the cage.

The Official Result

Round 1

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Thatch buckled Thiago with a hard knee.

Thatch swings kicks in Thiago’s direction early,
both at the legs and head, but Thiago is doing well to play matador
as he moves backward. Thatch leaps into range with a knee and gets
wrapped up, then taken down near the fence. Thatch posts and stands
up immediately, still kept in the clinch by Thiago with a body
lock. Thatch powers out of it and hits Thiago with a couple good
knees as they fight on the fence. Thiago tries a trip and gets
shoved off. Thatch walks him over to the other side of the cage and
steps in with a knee to the liver that sends Thiago slumping to the
ground.

Thatch steps in to follow up with punches, but Thiago is already
tapping the canvas in submission.

The Official Result

Round 1

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Feijao destroyed Pokrajac with knees, punches.

Pokrajac rushes “Feijao” against the fence and
lands a hard right hand over the top, forcing the Brazilian to
circle out. Pokrajac follows him and pins the former Strikeforce
champ against the fence with an underhook. The 205ers trade knees
in the clinch, Cavalcante adding a right hand to the body before
pulling the Thai plum for more knees. A couple more knees to the
gut have Pokrajac covering up; a few more and he’s wilting to the
ground. Cavalcante polishes him off with a couple hard right hands,
and ref Kevin MacDonald comes in to halt the bout.

The Official Result

Round 1

Ferreira keeps his back to the fence as he circles the outside, and
then Sarafian moves in to tie up and really stick his back against
the cage. The middleweights quickly stall out in the clinch, and
after about a minute of Sarafian trying for a single-leg, ref Mario
Yamasaki breaks them up. Sarafian steps in with a hard right hand
on the end of a one-two, then stuffs a shot from Ferreira and grabs
a headlock as “Mutante” pushes him against the cage. Sarafian drops
to guard but doesn’t have the angle to finish the guillotine, and
Ferreira pulls his head free. They stand and separate, and Ferreira
thwacks a high kick off Sarafian’s arms, then lands one to the
body. Ferreira clinches on the cage again but it goes nowhere and
they break off. One minute to go, and Sarafian runs into a hard
right hand that opens a cut on the left side of his forehead.
Sarafian steps in with a straight right, gets clipped with a left
and goes to a knee for a moment.

Sherdog Scores

Round 2

Photo: G.
Venga/Sherdog.com

Ferreira outpointed Sarafian.

It’s Ferreira shooting for and hitting a double-leg to open up the
second round. He tries to advance past half-guard, but Sarafian
gets a leg in and puts him back in full guard. Sarafian holds on to
a loose headlock from underneath, stalling Ferreira’s progress and
drawing a call for action from ref Mario Yamasaki. Ferreira loses
top position as Sarafian rolls over and back to his feet. A nasty
right straight from Sarafian sends “Mutante” stumbling; Sarafian
follows up with more punches but can’t put Ferreira out before
being taken down.

Ferreira keeps a tight top position, and he’s still working for an
arm-triangle when ref Yamasaki stands them up. Sarafian shoots a
single-leg against the cage, and he’s still shooting when the round
runs out.

Sherdog Scores

Round 3

Ferreira sticks his opponent with a pair of punches, but he gets
caught throwing a spinning back fist and pinned on the fence.
Sarafian releases and hits Ferreira with a hard right. Ferreira
gets another takedown and shoulder-shrugs Sarafian’s face from
half-guard. Sarafian tries to sit up and Ferreira goes for an
arm-triangle. Sarafian counters with a guillotine try, but Ferreira
slips out and punishes the man on the bottom with right hands to
the ribs. Referee Yamasaki orders the middleweights back to their
feet with just under two minutes on the clock. Ferreira just hits
another takedown near the fence and this time climbs on the
kneeling Sarafian’s back. Sarafian stands up with Ferreira sill
locked on, and Ferreira hits him with short left hands from the
back. The fight ends with Ferreira looking for a last-second
rear-naked choke.

The Official Result

Round 1

Referee Dan Miragliotta has the assignment for tonight’s main
event, with judges Guilhermo Bravo, Douglas Crosby and Cardo Urso
scoring at cageside. The veterans get off to a slow start, Belfort
circling the outside clockwise and Henderson creeping in the
middle, both with hands loaded. “Hendo” lunges in with a right hand
and gets caught off balance with a left hook on the chin. Belfort
swarms with wild punches, but Henderson appears to have recovered
as he throws up his legs for an armbar. Belfort stands and keeps
punching at his kneeling opponent. When Henderson goes to stand,
Belfort is waiting with a left kick that lands clean, shin-to-face,
and puts Henderson down again. This time, ref Miragliotta has seen
enough, and the arena explodes as Belfort jumps up to straddle the
cage.